Micromechanical olfactory system for sensitive and selective detection of explosives

We reported development of the gas vapor detection system using a piezoelectric driven microcantilever. The microcantilevers were fabricated by surface and bulk micromachining process. In order to discriminate 2, 4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) in the air, the fabricated microcantilevers surface was coated by biological receptor, peptide, which is able to detect unique chemical among a variety number of chemically similar material. It allowed that our cantilever sensor can detect the byproduct of explosive material, DNT, with concentration range of ppb level by overcoming the non-specificity of conventional chemical sensor with the polymer receptors.